Tourtellotte records 'big win' in girls basketball

Friday

Dec 13, 2013 at 10:26 PMDec 13, 2013 at 11:08 PM

By Marc Allardmallard@norwichbulletin.com

WOODSTOCK — Before the Tourtellotte girls basketball team returned to the floor for the second half Friday night, coach Carla Faucher took junior center Jess Dodd aside and made one simple request: "Make one basket."

After all, Dodd had not taken a shot in the first half.

With 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter at the Woodstock Academy Fieldhouse, Dodd complied with her coach's request. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Dodd had four baskets.

"I hit that one shot and my confidence just boosted," Dodd said. "That's what I needed. I was down in the first half, wasn't hitting anything (0-for-2 from the floor), and I felt I had to step up."

Dodd finished with nine of her game-high 13 points by the end of the third quarter. That surge helped Tourtellotte break open a close game for a key 37-30 victory over the Centaurs.

"This is huge," Faucher said. "We were at 2-0 last year (as the Tigers are now), but it was against the Tech schools. It really didn't tell us what we could do. Seeing Parish Hill (on the schedule for) the first game, I was happy with that because it was an easy game to get into things. I was nervous with Woodstock."

Quality win

Faucher played the confidence card with her team prior to the game as well. The Tigers had played and beaten Woodstock in summer league play.

"They had every right to be able to play with (Woodstock) and be successful," Faucher said.

The Tigers built a six-point lead early with the help of a pair of drives from young guard Abby Poirier. But the Tigers, according to Faucher, are not used to such good fortune. They allowed the Centaurs to climb back when Woodstock put on pressure.

"We went back to our old ways; chucking the ball, getting frustrated and anxious," Faucher said.

The Centaurs (0-2) took advantage and were up by three at the break. However, the third quarter proved to be a disaster for first-year coach Willie Bousquet's new charges. The Centaurs hit three of their eight attempts from the floor; they missed all seven of their free throws (the Centaurs were 6-for-20 from the line) and turned over the ball nine times.

"With a young team, the confidence level is just not there to go out and get the job done," Bousquet said. "We will work on it. The opportunity presented itself; it just didn't materialize."

The Tigers took advantage of their opportunity and then almost became machine-like. They made seven of their nine shots in the pivotal third quarter, doing a great job of recognizing their advantage inside

"Carla told us we have to win this game. There was no leaving without a win," Dodd said. "Our goal is to get to (the state tournament), at least. It hasn't happened in years and something just clicked in us (Friday). This was a big win."

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